Cooper: Angelina Perez conquers Nationals, sleep deprivation and New Jersey in 20 hours

SOMERSET – Angelina Perez took eight victory laps Saturday afternoon.

The Lakeland senior distance runner, competing for the second time in 18 hours, easily rolled to the championship in the State Meet of Champions 3,200-meter race Saturday at blustery Franklin High School.

It was the last gold medal of Perez’ historic high school career, to match the one she won Friday night at the same distance at New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia.

“Were these the best two times in the last two days? No, but these were the two races I wanted to win,” said Perez, sitting calmly on the infield after her victory. “I wanted to win a national championship my senior season, then win at outdoor Meet of Champs, because it was the only race I’d never won before. It was a good way to end it. I am happy.”

Saturday brought New Jersey’s spring track season to an official close. Hanging over the event was the fact that the New Balance Nationals are taking place the same weekend in Philadelphia, putting kids in a no-win situation of whether to skip one or the other, or do both.

While it’s billed as “Nationals,” it’s not really anything more than a great chance to run again at Penn and against a strong field with fireworks and special introductions.

The State Meet of Champions skimps on the fanfare.

It’s a festival of track excellence with records being set everywhere you look. Demarest was the big North Jersey winner with three individual champions in the throwing events. North Jersey won both the boys and girls pole vault. The next Angelina Perez – if we can call her that – won the 800.

But if there was one person everyone wanted to see, it was Perez. The feisty runner from Ringwood was trying to win two races in less than 24 hours in two different states. A delay at New Balance Nationals meant her race Friday night didn’t start until nearly 10 p.m.

There, Perez darted out to the lead, then after about six minutes, accelerated ahead of the field – ‘putting separation’, as they say in track lingo – and it was over. The future Florida Gator would not be caught.

“I said, ‘I am winning this. Whatever I need to do, I am winning this’,” Perez said.

Then it was back to the hotel. Perez said she got maybe three hours of sleep. She was pumped on adrenaline, and there was noise in the hallway. In the morning, she did a shakeout run, got in the car, and her dad drove them to Franklin.

Perez said she was fatigued when she got to the starting line, but it never looked like it. She went out at a steady pace, and everyone else faded back.

“I started feeling on lap three of this race how I usually feel on lap seven, and said this is going to be very rough,” Perez said. “But I was kind of replaying last year’s Meet of Champions in my head, which is what I did in every race, especially this spring. There was no way I am losing this race. I was going to push through it.”

It was striking to hear the cheers for Perez. She heard when her family yelled it was the last 400 meters of her high school career, and when Lancers coach Damiano Conforti called out her splits – then told the truth, “You’re gaining 10 seconds a lap,” he said.

That’s how good Perez was Saturday and all year. She was the showstopper and deserved each victory lap.

Allen goes all the way

The last girl to beat Perez on New Jersey soil was River Dell’s Christina Allen, who came back in the final 20 meters to win the SMOC 3,200 in 2021.

Allen has steadily built her skills and strength this season, and she capped her year with a triumphant performance in winning the 800 meters.

“I didn’t expect to win,” said Allen, who thrust her arms in the air past the finish line. “I have been liking the 800 a lot recently and chose it over the mile… because I am running the mile at Nationals [Sunday], and I wanted to see what I could do.”

The race fit Allen’s style perfectly. The lead pack stayed bunched together through the first lap, leaving Allen near the lead. At the start of the second lap, Allen, who gets stronger as races go on, went around the leaders and pulled away.

“I ended up in lane four going around them,” Allen explained, “but it worked out in my favor. I knew once I went around them I had to commit and go for it. I felt my legs start to go in the last 50, but was like, ‘Oh my gosh, just keep going, just keep going.’”

The New Jersey high school sports season ended Saturday with everyone at Franklin High School going until they just couldn’t go any more. That’s why we enjoy them so much.

Darren Cooper is a peachy-keen high school sports columnist for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.

Email: cooperd@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @varsityaces 

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Cooper: Angelina Perez fends off challenges in two races in two states in two days